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hey i was just wondering if there is a way you can record the programming saved to a dvd-rw? i know you can probably do it with a dvd recorder but the cost of a dvd recorder is roughly $350+ and is out of my budget. I was thinking, if i purchase an external dvd-rw (i could probably get one for around $150) and connect it to my laptop, and then connect the directivo receiver to the laptop, is it possible to record that way? just a thought...

To answer your question, ToOCLoSe, this is possible, but it takes some pretty serious hacking on your DirecTiVo to be able to do it because the USB ports are not active and DTV scrambles the stream to prevent stuff like this.

Unfortunately, we're not allowed to talk about it here, though, because of the site owner's wishes.

The OP wasn't asking about video extraction. He wants to run the output of his Tivo into a laptop and then to a DVD/RW.
Yes, you can do this as long as your laptop has a capture device with an analog video input.

I first looked into capturing the video to my PC and then burning to DVD, but I wasn't willing to spend that amount of time to do that. So I purchased a standalone DVD recorder. I set it to transfer late at night or when I'm out. Works just fine for me. And, for those who will ask how you connect it. Just like the VCR diagram in your manual.

quote:Originally posted by JimSpence I first looked into capturing the video to my PC and then burning to DVD, but I wasn't willing to spend that amount of time to do that. So I purchased a standalone DVD recorder. I set it to transfer late at night or when I'm out. Works just fine for me. And, for those who will ask how you connect it. Just like the VCR diagram in your manual.

What he said... in spades.

DVD recorders can be had for as little as $200-250 if you shop round. The amount of time/hassle saved over trying to capture it is not even close to being worth it. If you want to do more professional editing on a PC, you can still do that by rerording to RW or RAM and dumping that to your computer. It's the best of both worlds.